FAS

“Tactics in Counterinsurgency” Again Online

04.06.09 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

“Tactics in Counterinsurgency” (large pdf), a new Army Field Manual that was published on the website of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and then removed from public access, is now available on the FAS website.

The new manual, a substantial addition to the literature of counterinsurgency, was reported last week in the Washington Post and Inside the Army.  “After The Post raised questions about its contents last week,” wrote Walter Pincus of the Post on March 31, “it was taken down” from the Army website, even though the document is marked for unrestricted release.

An email inquiry to the Army inquiring why it had been removed was not answered.

See “Tactics in Counterinsurgency,” U.S. Army Field Manual Interim 3-24.2, March 2009 (6.2 MB PDF, 307 pages).

“Setbacks are normal in counterinsurgency, as in every other form of war,” the new manual advises (p. C-5).  “You will make mistakes, lose people, or occasionally kill or detain the wrong person….  If this happens, don’t lose heart, simply drop back to the previous phase of your game plan and recover your balance.”

publications
See all publications
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Strategies to Accelerate and Expand Access to the U.S. Innovation Economy

With targeted policy interventions, we can efficiently and effectively support the U.S. innovation economy through the translation of breakthrough scientific research from the lab to the market.

11.27.24 | 16 min read
read more
Government Capacity
day one project
Policy Memo
Collaborative Intelligence: Harnessing Crowd Forecasting for National Security

Crowd forecasting methods offer a systematic approach to quantifying the U.S. intelligence community’s uncertainty about the future and predicting the impact of interventions, allowing decision-makers to strategize effectively and allocate resources by outlining risks and tradeoffs in a legible format.

11.27.24 | 5 min read
read more
Clean Energy
day one project
Policy Memo
The Energy Transition Workforce Initiative

The energy transition underway in the United States continues to present a unique set of opportunities to put Americans back to work through the deployment of new technologies, infrastructure, energy efficiency, and expansion of the electricity system to meet our carbon goals.

11.27.24 | 5 min read
read more
Clean Energy
day one project
Policy Memo
Promoting Fusion Energy Leadership with U.S. Tritium Production Capacity

The United States has the only proven and scalable tritium production supply chain, but it is largely reserved for nuclear weapons. Excess tritium production capacity should be leveraged to ensure the success of and U.S. leadership in fusion energy.

11.26.24 | 12 min read
read more